Scrubbing the Table

E LOVES to help clean!  This week she's started scrubbing the table after meals, and you can tell from the picture that she has a lot of work to do on this art and food stained table!  She is always so happy and proud when I give a her a job.  I just hope she'll stay so eager to help out around the house! (the novelty seems to have worn off for her 4 and a half year old sister!)

Baking Bread

E and I baked bread (in our bread machine) on Wednesday morning.  E LOVED helping measure and pour the ingredients into the machine!  I hope to make baking bread an every other week activity. 





Since we made homemade bread, we had to have homemade butter to go with it!  We poured heavy cream into a small blender (previously used to make baby food) and blended it until it was buttery.  E did NOT like the noise, but she didn't mind quite as much after she tasted the butter.  Her little hand kept sneaking back to the bowl for just one more taste!





Here's our recipe for Honey Oatmeal Bread...

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cups water

3 cups bread flour (we used 1.5 cups of bread flour and 1.5 cups of whole wheat flour)

2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 tablespoons dry milk powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

2 tablespoons margarine

1 tablespoon active dry yeast


DIRECTIONS

Place ingredients in the pan of the bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer. Select White Bread setting, and Start.
 
Here's sweet O using this recipe to make bread almost 3 years ago.

Valentine's Day Sensory Box

I put together a simple Valentine's Day sensory box for E this morning.  It kept her occupied, so that I could attempt to organize my house (this is a monumental task, although I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel). 

I have realized again and again (I don't know why I keep forgetting this!) that simple is better, so I didn't put much in this box...dried pasta (I need to add another box), glittery heart stickers, a couple of cups, red monkey tongs, and a scoop.  E was really excited by her sensory box and sat right down to enjoy it.




I loved how she tried to put the pasta in the tongs!




After playing for several minutes, she seemed to be losing interest.  I suddenly realized what was missing...a container with a small opening for her to put the pasta in....she was thrilled when I gave her a baby bottle and demonstrated how to put the pasta in it.  She got right to work and was proud to fill it up and then shake the pasta back out again.









I plan to add another box or 2 of pasta and use this sensory box for several months.  I'll just take out the hearts and replace them with other seasonally appropriate items.

Edit to add:  E was never out of my sight while playing with this sensory box.  Please monitor your children carefully and do not give small items to children who put things into their mouths.

Arranging Silverware

E LOVES to arrange the silverware in the dishwasher.  She'll spend 10 to 15 minutes moving the silverware from one section to the next...totally focused and engaged in her task.

Geometric Solids for Baby

I introduced 5 of the geometric solids to E last week (I left out the ones with sharp points).  I told her the names of the solids and showed her that she could stack them.  Then I sat back and watched.  It is so rewarding to just watch her explore new materials.  She loved stacking the solids, and she kept trying to get the ellipsoid to balance on the top.




That didn't work, so she tried to balance the sphere.




I thought this was a good lesson in physics...until it worked!  It ended up being a lesson on persistence and balance!


Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

More than anything she loved taking the blocks out of the basket and then putting them back in again.  She spent a LONG time with this activity and was so focused the entire time.  Gotta love Montessori for building concentration and the ability to be completely absorbed by a task!




She was very proud of herself when she got all of the blocks into the basket!

Determination and Concentration

E was very focused and determined to get the q-tips into this bear container.  This was not an easy task, but she stuck with it.  I love to watch her when she is so focused on a task!



It is so hard to not jump in and help her, but it is so rewarding for her when she is able to do it by herself.  Her determination, persistence, and ability to concentrate AMAZES me!

Knobbed Cylinders for Baby

E is a little young for the knobbed cylinders (16 months), but I knew this was a work that she'd love, so I decided to go ahead and introduce it to her.  (One of the beauties of not being a real Montessori teacher is that I can do things the way I want to!)  E LOVED this work, and I was surprised by how focused she was on this task.

When I was giving her this lesson, I was very methodical, deliberate, and thoughtful with my movements.  I said "hmm" when I was thinking about which knobbed cylinder to put in each place.  When E was completing the work, she kept saying "HUMMM," and now she calls this work "HUMMM."  When I ask her if she wants to do "HUMMM," she excitedly shakes her head "no" which means "yes."  (she's gotten a little confused about the difference between shaking and nodding her head this week...so cute).
 



Here is a video of E working with the knobbed cylinders.  I could watch this video over and over again.  I love watching the way her mind works.  The mind of a child is an amazing thing.




She didn't finish the knobbed cylinder, but we left it out and finished it later.

Matching Picture Cards to A Book...Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See?

I introduced this Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? matching activity (that I made for O almost 3 years ago...time flies!) to E this week.  She LOVED it!




To make the activity, I took a picture of each page of the book.  I printed the pictures (wallet size) and laminated them. 




To do the activity, I read the book to E and I asked her to find the picture of each animal before I turned the page (while I was reading the 2nd page telling the animal that she would see next).  After I turned the page, she matched the picture to the animal on the page.  She LOVED this activity...until she was distracted by a pair of fancy high heeled "toos" (you can see them in the background of the 2nd picture).  I think this is an activity that my little animal lover is going to enjoy for a while, and I love that I have so many activities already made and ready for her!

Our Poetry Basket

We recently started a poetry basket, and both girls LOVE it!  When I read about poetry baskets on My Montessori Journey, I knew it was something I wanted to try because it's something I could do with both girls.  I had no idea they would love it as much as they did!



I chose the poem A Chubby Little Snowman for our first poem (found at Can Teach).  I printed the poem and put a dot under each word.  I gathered a snowman, a bunch of carrots, and a rabbit for our basket.  I glued a plastic eyeball to a craft stick, but it fell off the first time we used it (the girls didn't seem to care, but I'll probably glue it back).  I read the poem to the girls while touching each dot under the words and while acting out the poem with the props.  I then read it a second time while they acted it out with the props. 

O was very interested in the poem itself, while E loved acting it out.  I loved watching E make the bunny eat the snowman's nose, and she then pretended like the bunny was eating her nose.  E also liked holding the craft stick and pointing at the words while saying her version of the poem...love it!   I was amazed when O recited the poem after I'd read it to them twice...she was REALLY paying attention.  I expected her to learn it after about a week and had no idea that she'd memorize it immediately.  She has proudly recited the poem each day for her grandparents and daddy.  I guess that shouldn't surprise me since the child has an amazing memory, and I  knew that memorizing a poem would appeal to her since Laura and Mary (from the Little House on the Prairie books) have to recite poems and lessons.  A couple of days after starting this activity, we were reading an American Girl book, and Kirsten had to memorize a poem to recite to her class...that made this activity even more thrilling for O. 

I encourage everyone to do this simple activity with your children.  After seeing how much E has enjoyed this activity at only 16 months old, I wish I'd started doing something like this with O years ago.  I plan to have a new poem and poetry basket for the girls each month, and I'll probably keep a binder of the poems, so we can look back and read and recite them over and over again.



O asked me to make sure her "beautiful ring" was in the picture!

Outside Melody Maker

E loves the Melody Maker that O and I made a few years ago.  It's the first thing that she runs to when we go outside to play.  O and I had fun making it a few years ago, and now we all enjoy it!

Transferring Crayons

While the big girls were making their snowflake and paper chain crafts, E was busy grabbing crayons and scissors and running off with them.  She REALLY needed an activity!  I gave her the container of crayons and an empty container and told her to fill up the empty container with crayons.  She was delighted and got right to work! 



After she worked for a while, I realized that the crayons would fit perfectly in the container that she puts q-tips in.  She loved putting crayons in the container! 




This activity was so thrilling for her because I don't usually let her have crayons...she likes to bite them, and she's sneaky about it.  I watched her closely, and she wasn't putting the crayons anywhere near her mouth.  I looked away, but noticed her sitting quietly with her hands in her lap staring at me with a sweet smirk on her face.  I knew immediately that she must have eaten a crayon...sure enough, there was a little chunk of an orange crayon in her mouth.  I can't take my eyes off of this girl for a second!   However, I LOVE how she looks at me with that sweet little expression and waits for me to realize what she has done.

Twig Blocks Activity

Since E loves to fit objects into openings that are just the right size, I thought she'd like having this Twig block activity on her Montessori activity shelf.  She and O both love to play with the Twig blocks, and this activity is a hit with E.  I showed her how to match the colors, but she was not interested in that yet. 

Q-Tips and a Container

E had a great time putting q-tips in a container today.  She loves this type of activity, and I love that it is so simple and keeps her so busy!

Frustration

E started playing with this box when my mom and I were sewing before Christmas.  It's open at both ends, but she was determined to put Kapla blocks in it.  I heard her whining and fussing to herself as she put each block in and it went out the other side.  (I was glad the camera was nearby!)  She brought the box and blocks to me, and she looked shocked when I couldn't get the blocks to stay in the box either.  Then she stood the box on one end on the floor, and she was finally successful!  She was briefly satisfied before the box fell over.  Poor baby.